returns

Meanings

1. 1nounusually pluralfinance

   The profit or income that an investment or business makes over a period of time.

   Grammar: Plural in this meaning: the returns were high; a single measure is 'a return'.

   Patterns

   • returns on something
   • returns from something

   The fund has delivered strong returns over the past decade.

   Returns on savings accounts are low at the moment.

   Investors expect steady returns from the new factory.

2. 2nounplural

   Goods that customers bring or send back to a shop, or the process of handling them.

   Grammar: Often used with a shop's policy or department: returns are accepted within thirty days.

   Patterns

   • returns policy
   • returns desk

   The store's returns desk was crowded after the holidays.

   Online returns are free if you keep the original packaging.

   Her job is to process the returns that come in from customers.

3. 3nounpluralformal

   Official figures reported from an election, giving the votes counted so far.

   Grammar: Often appears in news reports with come in or show: early returns show a close race.

   Patterns

   • election returns
   • returns come in

   Early returns show the mayor leading by a narrow margin.

   Voters stayed up late watching the returns come in.

   The final returns confirmed the challenger's victory.

Common combinations

high returns

Risky stocks promise high returns but can lose money quickly.

diminishing returns

After the third hour of studying, the law of diminishing returns kicked in.

returns policy

Check the returns policy before buying a gift.

election returns

Election returns arrive after the polls close.

annual returns

The fund reports annual returns of about six percent.

Synonyms and how they differ

profits

Profits are what remains after costs are paid, whereas returns are measured against the amount you put in.

yield

Yield usually means the income from a bond, rent or dividend as a percentage, and sounds more technical than returns.

results

Results is a broad word for the outcome of an election or test, while returns suggests figures arriving as counting continues.

Opposites

Word family

return noun

singular form: a profit, a coming back, or a tax form

return verb

to come or go back, or give back

returnable adjective

able to be sent back

returnee noun

a person who comes back home or to work

Commonly confused: returns or returns vs. refunds?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “returns”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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